Latin name of the genus and species of the claimed plant: Gardenia jasminoides Ellis.
Variety denomination: Kimberly.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gardenia plant, botanically known as Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar originated as a mutant in a controlled breeding program in Poeldijk, The Netherlands. The mutant parent is an unnamed plant of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis (unpatented). xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected by the inventor, Nicolaas Wilhelmus Jozef Maria Barendse, as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Poeldijk, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by tissue culture was first performed in Summer 1998 in Alexandria, Egypt, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 which in combination distinguish this Gardenia as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. dark green glossy leaves;
2. somewhat sinuated leaves;
3. large white flowers;
4. fast growth rate; and
5. good branch production.
xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, and daylength without any change in the genotype of the plant. The following observations, measurements and values describe the new cultivar as grown in Poeldijk, The Netherlands under conditions which closely approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 is cultivar jasminoides xe2x80x98Ellisxe2x80x99. xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 has much bigger, darker, glossier and somewhat sinuated leaves. The flowers of xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 are bigger but the plant produces less buds. xe2x80x98Kimberlyxe2x80x99 is wider than jasminiodes Ellis, produces more branches and the growing speed is approximately twice as high.